Apparatus for refinishing floors



lApril 3, 1951 LOMBARDO 2,547,223

APPARATUS FOR REFINISHING FLOORS Filed May 13, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR (2:; L0 ARDO BY ATTY.

April 3, 1951 'J. LOMBARDO 2,547,223

APPARATUS FOR REFINISHING FLOORS Filed May 13, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 3/0211; LOM ARDO BY AT TY.

April 3, 1951 J. LOMBARDO APPARATUS FOR REFINISHING FLOORS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 13, 1946 INVENTOR OMBARDO ATTY Patented Apr. 3, 1951 UNITED STATES egram FFICE APPARATUS FOR REFINISHING FLOORS Joseph Lombardo, Chicago, Ill. Application May '13, 1946, -Serial N0."669,269

I 9 Claims. (01. iii-25) 2 "The invention relates to an apparatus for fin ishing floors.

The refinishing of floors hitherto has been efiected by a laborious and toilsome process of manually brushing the floor.

Itis, therefore, one of the main objectswto provide an apparatus which enables the refinishing offloors in a convenient and less arduous manner than heretofore possible.

It is a further object to provide a tank containing the finishing material which is movably mounted to assume flow position and idle position.

Another object, constitutes the provision of in dependent actuating means for moving thetank selectively into operative and idle positions.

It is a further object to provide the refinishing apparatus on a truck and obtain the refinishing automatically by pulling the truck over the desired floor area.

Another object embraces the provision of a spreader arm or bar capable of being arranged in operative and idle position, respectively.

It is a still further object to provide means to deflect drippings from the spreader bar when in idle position into the tank.

It is also an object to provide certain features of construction and arrangement of parts tending to enhance the utility and eiiiciency of an apparatus of the kind specified.

With these and other objects in view which will become apparent from a perusal of the invention, the latter comprises the means described in the following specification, particularly pointed outin the claims forming a partthereof and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

which I Fig. l is a perspective view of'zthe apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a further perspective view showing the apparatus in idle position.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line '3-3 of Fig. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a tank employed with the apparatus.

Fig. 5 .is a section on the line 5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a top plan view from the line 6.- i of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a section on the line i--'-i of Fig. 2.

secured to the-underside of the platform and a V shape to provide a stand, the ends of-the bar v lower end of the spring is secured to the. tongue I (Fig. l.)

being bent inwardly and secured to the platform by screws 19. i

An eyebolt-Zfl (Fig. 9) passes through an aperture. in the upper end of. the stand. it retaining nut secures the bolt in position. A nut 22 at the lower end of the bolt secures the upper end of a coil spring 2'3 to the bolt and the I? so that the latter is maintained .in raised position for convenient grasp thereof.

To thesides of the platform are secured angle irons 2a which extend beyond the rear end of the truck.

Hinge leaves 25 are secured to the angle irons" and to the rear wallZfi of a tank '27 extending transversely beyond the angle irons 2-5.

The tankZl has a bottom wall 28 a short low frontwall 29 and end walls 39'.

"The tank is subdivided into three compartments by partitions '3! which partitions have concave upper edges.

The-bottom wall 28 has a row of apertures 32 through which the liqu-id material egresses under gravity when the tank is in operative position If, however, the tank is in idle position, as shown in full lines in Fig. then the liquid is trapped in the tank and does not flow.

The tank by reason of its hinge connection is tilted by a rod 33 passing through the eye of bolt 26 and secured at its other end to a clevis 32 to which is secured the bent end 35 of a bar 3% secured tothe bottom of the It. is evident that upon pulling of the rod the tank will occupy the operative or flow position and upon pushing the rodinwardly the tank is placed in ldleposition.

Wire loops 3? are secured to the angle irons 24 and support a drip pan 3% which is underneath the tank Y Z'i-and collects any drippings from the tank. 2

A bar 39 is secured at its lower end to the plat form and has an inclined position to terminate at itsupper end ina flange so.

.To the rear end of each angle ironz is secured by a 'wingnut M for pivotal movement a bar 42 to which is braced or otherwise rigidly secured and at right angles thereto another bar 63.

A surfacing member or means includes a spreader arm or bar generally designated by 4 3 comprises a beam .5 preferably though not necessarily of rectangular cross section extending parallel to the tank.

On top of the beam is secured an angl-eiron Q5 and two vertical bars t? are secured to the angle irons and serve as attachment mean for the bars 63 which are secured to the bars il' by a bolt 48 and nuts '39 constituting a lock joint and enabling v adjustment of the beam to compensat for uneven fioor levels.

Around the beam are wrapped skins 55 and tied together by string 5 i.

In the first use of the apparatus the drip pan 38 is placed underneath the spreader bar and filled with shellac lacquer or other preferred liquid material. The spreader bar is then placed in the pan. Th skins will soak up most of the material. Then the spreader arm is manually raised, the pan withdrawn and placed in the wire loops. v

The spreader bar 4 5 can only be raised until it contacts with the stop bar 39 (Fig. 3) in which position it overlies the tank 2?.

The bars 23 are provided with disks or plates 52 capable of deflecting drippings from the spreader bar into the tank.

In emptying the tank the latter after removal from the angle iron is placed on the edge of one end wall 38 and in lifting the tank the content of the topmost compartment will first fiow in the next compartment by reason of the concave edge of partition 3i and then the lowest compartment for final ejection in the continued lifting or tilting of the tank.

In order to counterbalance the truck a weight 53 is provided which may be a container housing the liquid material.

In use the apparatus is unfolded for operative purposes a indicated in Fig. l for working or treating a surface such as the fioor 54.

If, by way of example, a bowling alley is to be refinished the apparatus is pulled centrally thereof with the spreader bar 44 in lowered or working position on, and extending slightly beyond, the alley 5d and terminating over the gutters 55.

The finishing material is discharged from the tank 2? through the apertures 32 and in pulling the truck by its tongue ii the spreader bar or arm applies a smooth thin coat to the alley floor.

After use the rod 33 is pushed to cause the tank to occupy the position shown in Fig. 3 and the spreader bar i l is lifted to abut with the stop bar 39. In this position the spreader bar tank and drip pan overlie one another so that any drippings are caught in the pan.

If desired the tongue i! may be disengaged from the spring 23 and turned to underlie the platform to be secured thereto by string 56.

The apparatus eliminates the necessity of refinishing floors by rr'anually applying a, brush, is capable of adjustment to meet special requirements and may be employed wherever flooring is to be refinished.

While the drawings disclose one embodiment of to overly the floor and discharge said material thereon, an elongated spreader arm and means carried by the truck and mounting said arm to swing in parallelism with said tank from a working position on said floor to an idle position above said tank, and drip receiv ng means carried by said truck in a position to underly said spreader arm in said idle position.

2. Floor finishing apparatus comprising a truck, an elongated tank carried by said truck and adapted to discharge finishing material onto the floor, an elongated spreader arm for spreading aid material means mounting said arm for movement from a wor ng p sition relative to said fiOOI' to an idle position above said tank, the latter having an open upper portion to receive material gravitating from said spreader arm in said idle position.

3. An apparatus for refinishing floors and including a truck, a tank tilt-ably secured to said tru and having discharge openings positioned to discharge material onto the floor when the tank is'tilted'into operative position and to prevent said discharge when the tank is tilted into an inoperative posi ion, for tilting said tank into and out or" said positions, a spreader arm and race is pivctally mounted on said truck and supper said arm for movement between an idle position an operative position relative to said floor for spreadably working the material discharged by said tank, and means on said truck to limit movement or said arm into said idle position as uo overly said tank, the latter having a portion open to receive dippings from said spreader rm in said idle position.

4. Floor treating apparatus comprising a truck, an elongated tank and means mounting the same in'a projected position beyond one end of said truck and with the length of the tank lateral to the general travel of the truck, said tank having discharge openings treating material carried thereby and further having ope; top portions, an elongated spreader for treating material and means mounting said spreader on said truck in approximate parallelism with said tank and for movement relative to the latter into and out of an idle position in alignment above said open top portions or" the tank and a working position below the level of said tank 011 said floor.

5. Floor treating apparatus including a roller truck, an elongated treating arm pivotally mounted by means attached to said truck so as to extend crosswise of the general axis of travel of the truck, the pivotal movement of said arm being between an idle elevated position and a lowered working position on said floor, and a treating-material discharge tank approximately coextensive in length with said treating arm' and carried by said truck in a position of approximate parallelism with said treating arm and at a level intermediate of said idle and working positions of the latter.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 and further characterized in that said tank has open upper portions underlying said treating arm to receive drippings from the latter in said idle position thereof.

7. A floor treating machin comprising a truck, an elongated discharge tank for treating material and means mounting said tank in advance of an end of the body of the truck to overly the floor, said tank being movably supported by said mounting means for motion into and out of a discharging and a non-discharging position, dis- P charge exit means in said tank for discharge of treating material therein substantially along the length of said tank when the latter is in said discharging position and to prevent such discharge when the tank is in said non-discharging position, an elongated surfacing member mounted on arms carried by said mounting means to swing from idle position above said tank to a Working position engaging said floor, and lever means "carried by said truck and having connection with said tank for operation to move the tank into and 1 out of said discharging and non-discharging positions.

8. A machine as set forth in claim 7 and further characterized in that said tank is hingedly mounted on said mounting means to rock into and out of said discharging and non-discharging positions, and said exit means comprises a plurality of discharge holes along an upper longitudinal margin of said tank so as to be disposed at a higher level than the treating material in the tank when the latter is in said non-discharging position, and to be ,disposed at a lower level than said treating material when the tank is in said discharging position.

9. A floor treating machine comprising an elongated tank and a similarly elongated spreader arm, means pivotally mounting said tank and arm in approximate parallelism for relative motion with said tank movable into and out of working and idle position, and said spreader arm movable into and out of working and idle position, means along the length of said tank for discharging treating material from the tank when the latter is in working position, and a wheeled vehicle carrying said mounting means with said tank and spreader arm spaced from the vehicle to overly the floor, and said spreader arm movable from idle position to working position on the floor.

JOSEPH LOMBARDO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 209,185 Nye Oct. 22, 1878 1,268,524 Wilson June 4, 1918 1,590,445 Wagner Nov. 3, 1925 1,818,916 Wasen Aug. 11, 1931 1,91,518 Larkin June 5, 1934 2,036,115 Branch Mar. 31, 1936 2,162,310 Korsen 2. June 13, 1939 

